From Prague, we took a 5 hour train north to Berlin. The train was packed and lots of people didn’t have seats, so they were squatting wherever possible. It made for pretty cramped conditions, but luckily we had reserved seats. There were a lot of young backpackers on the train and they couldn’t have been more annoying. We were watching Mad Men and both had earphones on, but could still perfectly hear the two girls half a train in front of us! The best was when they decided to break out their guitar and start singing  folk tunes… because really, who wouldn’t want to hear heavily accented, poorly pitched, incomprehensible warbling. Adding insult to injury, they were talking on a cell phone, acknowledging to whoever they were talking to that they’re being loud and half the train must want to muzzle them. We are still not sure what possessed us to have such restraint, but the thought of approaching them and forcefully shutting their traps crossed our mind a few times.

About half way through the trip, we discovered we were sitting in the wrong seats, so we had to move train cars. We were thrilled to get away from those annoying chicks, but we traded one nuisance for another. The next car had a bit of an air-conditioning issue, or lack thereof to be more exact. When the train is stopped at a station, usually the air is turned off and this car didn’t have that much air to begin with, so we were greeted with the lovely stench of sweaty European boys and a few of them were apparently so hot they felt the need to undress and were hanging out shirtless. Does no one teach these kids how to behave properly in public?!?

Other than that, the train ride was lovely. We passed by a few small villages, lots of fields, and rode alongside a river that people were rafting in. Also, if you haven’t yet jumped on the bandwagon that is Mad Men, do so now! It’s a show about an advertising agency set in the 1960’s. Boy, did they drink and smoke a lot back in those days! The writing and the acting are  great and we’ve quickly gone through all four seasons. We are devastated that season five won’t be returning till 2012 😦 The next series that we’ll be delving into is Friday Night Lights